What is a cult?

[praiseyhvh]

I have heard this church call that church a cult, and I have even heard Christianity itself defined as a cult. So, what is a cult exactly? Is it a label used by one religious sect to discredit another based on doctrinal and theological disagreement?

[jgonz]

I'd say that a cult is a group of people who worship their leader, each other, or multiple gods.

When you're talking in a Christian sense, then I'd say that a cult is a church that has gone off into error... There is also a type of church that has "cultic" behavior... no one can make their own decisions, everything has to go through the pastor, the women/men are all clones of each other...

I can't stand it when one group calls another group a cult, without having Scriptural basis for it, just that they don't like them. Same with people who throw the term "heretic" around. Drives me nuts.

[visionary]

Depends on who is doing the accusing..... whether true or not. Personally, I say that anyone who places man in God's spot is a leader of a cult.

[HadassahSukkot]

Generally, unless I am speaking of pagan cults/rites; I use the second meaning JGonz has mentioned.

the meaning of "the leader(s) are to be held in high esteem and you can't make your own decisions" bit.. or "everyone is a mindless drone" - and the "if you are associated with x, y, or z - you must repent or you cannot fellowship with us!"

it becomes mind and spiritual control that only G-d should have... and that's sooooooooo not right on many levels.

[skatepixie]

Personally, I call it a cult if they are unwilling to tell you what they believe. For example, as a Catholic, I can say that we have the Bible and the Catechism (sp) that spell out our beliefs. Compare that to some religions that have the whole secret society thing going on. Like, where there are secrets that are "revealed" to the members when they reach the next "level."

It may not be the only marker of a cult, but to me, its a big one. When you go to the leader of the religous group, they should be willing to tell you what they believe when they inquire.

I also dont think so highly of churches who knock on my door on the weekend. *winks*

[praiseyhvh]

Thank you all for responding. I have been called a heretic before by someone who said they were Christian. I was thinking about cults, and the Davidians came to mind. Their leader claimed to be 'Christ' did he not?

[HadassahSukkot]

Yes, he did. [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Koresh ] There were a lot of things wrong with that group [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branch_Davidians ]; but there were a lot of things wrong with how the situation was handled too :(

[stone]

I still have that front page from the Houston Post, or chronicle, one or the other, from that time when it made the front page, no idea what made me save it, just did.

I remember the front page read, "O MY GOD! THEIR BURNING THEMSELVES ALIVE!" or something like that.

He was a strange guy from what i've read.


Later, i saw a documentary about what happened there. It showed that the police burned the buildings to try and get the people te get out of them, but they stayed inside and wouldn't give up.

[HadassahSukkot]

I remember all of that. The only TV that was American we had at the time was ABC news with subtitles in Spanish at the bottom.. with Peter Jennings. I used to wish we could get CNN or "SOMETHING" other than ABC, but you would take what you got.

Admist other things going on in the news those years...

Our neighbors kept asking us about the States, if it was always that way..

We had to explain that in some parts of the country it was, but that in many places it was quiet; and how big the USA really is compared to where we were living at the time.

All in all it was interesting; but scary beyond all imagination... (at least something should be scary when you're 12)

I didn't know which was scarier, the Gulf War (and later Operation Provide Comfort), Bosnia.... and our proximity to them... ETA or what was going on in Texas and California at the time in 1992/1993...

I do remember the "documentary" movie that was made and watching it. I think my aunt taped it and mailed it to us.. hm.

[plum]

literally, a cult is a group of people who believe the same thing and act in a set fashion.

definitions of it here (http://www.google.com/search?q=define%3A+cult&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a)

there are lots of variations. But in popular jargon I think it means a group of people who are separated from the normal religious patterns and practices of the day and are part of a small, organized, exclusive group who believe the same things and live the same ways.

[Shimshon]

a group of people who are separated from the normal religious patterns and practices of the day and are part of a small, organized, exclusive group who believe the same things and live the same ways.

Small organized and exlusive......:idea:



So if they are huge in numbers, does it then validate the cult as an 'organization'?

If they can claim 'majority' does it change the status of cult to an acceptable practice?

[Ivy]

I thought JGonz's definition really rang true.

There's usually a leader with unusual personal charisma....somehow he/she is able to appeal to people's unmet needs for love, so that they would rather do anything that lose that person's "love," if you could call it that. If love=cyanide-flavored koolaid. :( I still remember the Jonestown thing. Terrible.